THE CONTRIBUTION OF K+ ION CHANNELS AND THE Ca2+-PERMEABLE TRPM8 CHANNEL TO BREAST CANCER CELL PROLIFERATION.

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Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer type among Canadian women. Breast cancers originate from the malignant transformation of mammary epithelial cells, which causes them to adopt an uncontrolled cell proliferation phenotype.
My research suggests that the activity of specific ion channels (KV10.1, KCa3.1 and TRPM8) contribute to the proliferation of MCF-7 cells, a cell line commonly used to study breast cancer in vitro. Pharmacologically inhibiting the activities of KV10.1 or KCa3.1 channels decreased basal, but not estrogen-stimulated [3H]-thymidine incorporation, demonstrating that these channels contribute to MCF-7 cell proliferation. One way K+ channel activity is hypothesized to control cell proliferation is via regulation of membrane potential-dependent Ca2+ influx. Inhibition of KCa3.1 but not KV10.1 channel activity resulted in a membrane potential-dependent decrease in basal Ca2+ influx, suggesting that the way in which KCa3.1 channels contribute to cell proliferation is via regulating Ca2+ influx.
In addition, my research also demonstrated that TRAM-34 increased or decreased cell proliferation depending on the concentration used and mitogenesis by TRAM-34 was blocked by estrogen receptor antagonists. TRAM-34 increased progesterone receptor mRNA expression, decreased estrogen receptor-alpha mRNA expression and reduced the binding of radiolabelled estrogen to estrogen receptor protein, in each case mimicking the effects of estrogen. Our finding that TRAM-34 is able to activate the estrogen receptor suggests a novel action of this supposedly specific K+ channel inhibitor and raises concerns of interpretation in its use.
TRPM8 channels were also identified in MCF-7 cells, where they appeared to be important Ca2+ entry pathways. Inhibiting the activity of TRPM8 pharmacologically, as well as knocking down TRPM8 mRNA expression decreased cell proliferation, indicating that TRPM8 also contributed to MCF-7 cell proliferation.
In conclusion, my research demonstrates that the activities of KV10.1, KCa3.1 and TRPM8 channels contribute to basal breast cancer cell proliferation. These findings suggest that the activity of specific ion channels may be potential targets for future therapeutic agents to treat breast cancer.